Matthew Schmitz

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Tucker Max, the bestselling author and self-proclaimed “frat-boy David Sedaris,” makes me glad that adolescent boorishness usually goes along with illiteracy. His stories—-centered on the abuse of alcohol and of women, in both cases extreme—-are generally better to ignore . . . . Continue Reading »

Jimmy Carter thinks Democrats should talk less about abortion, Caroline May of the Daily Caller reports: “I never have believed that Jesus Christ would approve of abortions and that was one of the problems I had when I was president having to uphold Roe v. Wade and I did everything I could to . . . . Continue Reading »

Yesterday’s post on dating websites sparked a number of interesting reactions from commenters. Kelly Ames Smith argued that dating websites (whatever the value of their algorithms) are useful sorting tools for finding men serious about making a commitment: I met my husband online on Ave Maria . . . . Continue Reading »

By a blindfolded child, as it turns out (and by a broad vote): Thousands of people flooded into Cairo’s Abbasiya Cathedral Tuesday to say a final farewell to Pope Shenouda III, the spiritual leader of Egypt’s Coptic Christians for more than four decades. Shenouda III died Saturday at . . . . Continue Reading »

The data show that dating websites are based on false assumptions, argues Jonah Lehrer in the Wall Street Journal : A recent analysis led by the social psychologist Eli Finkel of Northwestern University shows there is little reason to believe that [dating] websites are improving dating outcomes. In . . . . Continue Reading »

The Telegraph reports on the recent ruling from the European Court on Human Rights: The ruling follows the launch of a consultation over gay marriage in the UK, in which the Equalities Minister promised a change in the law. The European Court of Human Rights reached the decision in the case of . . . . Continue Reading »

David P. Goldman offers some wise advice to Mitt Romney at his blog:  For social, macroeconomic, and national security reasons, America has to revive manufacturing. And Rick Santorum is right to emphasize it.  I would like to hear Santorum talk less about contraception and more about the . . . . Continue Reading »

Today is the birthday of J.S. Bach, on whome First Things has published a good deal over the years. Here are some selections. Uwe Siemon-Notto’s ” J.S. Bach in Japan ” on Bach as the fifth Evangelist: Twenty–five years ago when there was still a Communist East Germany, I . . . . Continue Reading »

Last week Michale Stokes Paulsen wrote a striking defense of Vanderbilt’s right to prevent students from forming religious groups (while vigorously contesting their decision to do so). The idea, in short, is that the same principle that suggests Christian students should be allowed to form . . . . Continue Reading »